PwC research reveals that top-performing organisations are turning to a more strategic set of managed services partnerships (MSPs) to access talent and technology, with the goal of not only reducing costs but becoming faster and more innovative.
How top companies are making the most of managed services
Explore our maturity scale
Our managed services partnerships (MSP) maturity scale demonstrates that businesses who fully embrace managed services for strategic advantage enjoy a 12.4x performance premium advantage over those who use managed services for costs savings only.
Next Get startedTo get a clearer picture of what these leading companies are doing, PwC developed a four-level maturity model for companies’ approach to managed services partnerships (MSPs). Level one businesses have no or limited use of MSPs; level two businesses use MSPs solely to reduce operating costs; level three businesses use the partnerships to close capability gaps; and level four businesses use MSPs to gain strategic advantage—for example, to respond to opportunities and threats or to keep pace with changes in technology.
As the managed services market shifts, both buyers and providers are moving beyond the old-school, cost-focused outsourcing arrangements that used to characterize it. While cost reduction is still an important consideration, today’s leading companies go further. They work with their managed services partners to close capability gaps and support strategic advantage in areas ranging from compliance and upskilling workers to gaining access to external data and innovating customer experiences, among others.
Managed service partnerships offer access to expertise, knowledge, external data sources and technology assets that help accelerate enterprise transformation and performance around capabilities that companies view as critical—and sometimes even differentiating. On their own, companies may struggle to build these capabilities at the required pace, and to keep them relevant over time. And even if they could do both, the effort might dilute their focus on the distinctive activities that matter most to their competitive advantage.
To arrive in that top-performance quintile, top-performing companies make mutually reinforcing investments in their business, operating, and technology models, which in turn drive performance factors such as innovation, speed-to-market, and flexibility.
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No MSPBusinesses with no or limited use of Managed Service Partnerships (MSPs)
Businesses with no or limited use of Managed Service Partnerships (MSPs)
Cost savings onlyBusinesses who use MSPs solely to reduce operating costs
Capability gapsBusinesses who use MSPs to close capability gaps
Strategic advantageBusinesses who use MSPs for strategic advantage
Average performance premium (%) by MSP maturity stage
- Performance premium advantage
Percentage of respondents with high levels of speed-to-market by MSP maturity stage
- Performance premium advantage
Percentage of respondents with high levels of innovation by MSP maturity stage
- Performance premium advantage
Percentage of companies at each maturity stage
- All other companies in
- All other companies in
- Top performing companies in
- Top performing companies in
- Performance premium advantage
Source: PwC Global Advisory Thought Leadership Accelerator
| Global/All industry sectors | Australia | Germany | United Kingdom | United States | Consumer | Financial | Industrial | Technology | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | |
| Performance Premium | -3.9% | -0.1% | 15.5% | 43.2% | -16.3% | -8.5% | 3.2% | 35.1% | -3.9% | -6.8% | -0.9% | 32.3% | -0.9% | 16.1% | 36.9% | 54.4% | 0.2% | -2.7% | 19.9% | 34.4% | -11.2% | -9.5% | 34.2% | 54.2% | -2.2% | 2.3% | 11.0% | 53.1% | 4.0% | -0.4% | 12.5% | 33.2% | -10.3% | 0.7% | 20.7% | 34.6% |
| Speed-to-maket | 30.9% | 52.7% | 55.2% | 86.1% | 45.1% | 52.2% | 70.4% | 71.3% | 35.2% | 48.3% | 55.6% | 78.1% | 25.8% | 57.8% | 71.4% | 93.5% | 32.1% | 53.8% | 57.9% | 81.1% | 27.0% | 49.1% | 100.0% | 94.6% | 28.7% | 49.2% | 60.0% | 89.3% | 34.8% | 53.1% | 50.0% | 73.6% | 30.9% | 56.6% | 50.0% | 86.1% |
| Innovation | 16.6% | 30.8% | 50.0% | 75.0% | 69.9% | 80.1% | 82.6% | 86.1% | 16.6% | 23.6% | 55.6% | 68.5% | 20.3% | 47.8% | 64.3% | 91.2% | 17.9% | 29.6% | 36.8% | 59.1% | 9.5% | 17.5% | 50.0% | 79.7% | 12.8% | 29.4% | 50.0% | 76.5% | 19.0% | 30.8% | 43.8% | 65.5% | 20.6% | 35.6% | 55.0% | 76.5% |
| Top Performers* | 40.1%,14.0% | 41%,15.9% | 18.9%,70.1% | 15.9%,66.6% | 45.9%,NA | 43.6%,13.3% | 10.5%,86.7% | 8.2%,73.3% | 44%,33.3% | 41.5%,15.9% | 14.6%,50.8% | 10.4%,49.2% | 36.1%,4.8% | 39.1%,17% | 24.9%,78.2% | 22.4%,75% | 37.2%,21.2% | 40.7%,14.1% | 22.2%,64.7% | 19.3%,60.6% | 44.0%,2.4% | 33.7%,2.4% | 22.3%,95.1% | 21.7%,92.7% | 41.5%,6.5% | 39%,15.7% | 19.5%,77.8% | 15.6%,75% | 38.6%,30.3% | 48.1%,19.2% | 13.3%,50.5% | 10.3%,46.5% | 38.7%,11.1% | 39.3%,18% | 22%,70.9% | 18.8%,66.7% |
| Global/All sectors | Australia | Germany | United Kingdom | United States | Consumer | Financial | Industrial | Technology | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | No MSP | Cost Savings Only | Capability Gaps | Strategic Advantage | |
| Performance Premium | 640.00 | 660.00 | 58.00 | 476.00 | 101.00 | 98.00 | 7.00 | 29.00 | 199.00 | 178.00 | 18.00 | 73.00 | 128.00 | 161.00 | 14.00 | 215.00 | 212.00 | 223.00 | 19.00 | 159.00 | 74.00 | 57.00 | 2.00 | 74.00 | 188.00 | 187.00 | 20.00 | 149.00 | 184.00 | 211.00 | 16.00 | 87.00 | 192.00 | 205.00 | 20.00 | 166.00 |
| Speed-to-maket | 198.00 | 348.00 | 32.00 | 410.00 | 27.00 | 49.00 | 1.00 | 23.00 | 70.00 | 86.00 | 10.00 | 57.00 | 33.00 | 93.00 | 10.00 | 201.00 | 68.00 | 120.00 | 11.00 | 129.00 | 20.00 | 28.00 | 2.00 | 70.00 | 54.00 | 92.00 | 12.00 | 133.00 | 64.00 | 112.00 | 8.00 | 64.00 | 60.00 | 116.00 | 10.00 | 143.00 |
| Innovation | 106.00 | 203.00 | 29.00 | 357.00 | 9.00 | 18.00 | 3.00 | 17.00 | 33.00 | 42.00 | 10.00 | 50.00 | 26.00 | 77.00 | 9.00 | 196.00 | 38.00 | 66.00 | 7.00 | 94.00 | 7.00 | 10.00 | 1.00 | 59.00 | 24.00 | 55.00 | 10.00 | 114.00 | 35.00 | 65.00 | 7.00 | 57.00 | 40.00 | 73.00 | 11.00 | 127.00 |
| Top Performers* | 51.00 | 58.00 | 13.00 | 243.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 11.00 | 21.00 | 10.00 | 1.00 | 31.00 | 9.00 | 32.00 | 6.00 | 141.00 | 21.00 | 14.00 | 4.00 | 60.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 38.00 | 7.00 | 17.00 | 3.00 | 81.00 | 30.00 | 19.00 | 4.00 | 46.00 | 13.00 | 21.00 | 5.00 | 78.00 |
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